MUNCIE, IN — A Muncie woman has been charged with obstruction of justice.
Marinda L. Fitchpatrick, 37, was charged with that Level 6 felony — and false informing, a misdemeanor — on Monday, July 13, in Delaware Circuit Court 3.
Delaware County sheriff’s deputies said Fitchpatrick was a passenger in a stolen Ford pickup truck that led them on a high-speed chase in Muncie on July 3. Deputies ended the search when the truck turned onto the Cardinal Greenway.
When she was taken into custody later that day, after the truck had been found abandoned in the 1700 block of East 14th Street, Fitchpatrick reportedly told investigators the driver of the stolen vehicle had been a local man, who she identified by name.
After that man was taken into custody a few days later, deputies reviewed surveillance video that showed the truck at a local convenience store and determined the driver had actually been another man, who investigators said was Fitchpatrick’s boyfriend.
Questioned a second time after the events of July 3, the Muncie woman reportedly told deputies her boyfriend had threatened her during the chase, prompting her to later identify the stolen truck’s driver as another man.
According to court records, Fitchpatrick has been convicted of crimes including possession of a narcotic drug, residential entry and unlawful carrying of a handgun.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie woman charged with obstruction of justice, false informing
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press | USA TODAY Network
